The East Hartford Gazette

It was not so, however, with what constituted content. The acting and pace was heavy-handed, when it should have been light-hearted, angry when it should have been playful, laborious when it should have been scintillating. Stentorian tones and falling inflections made the whole (despite some well-turned hits by supporting players) into funeral march rather than a high-stepping, abandoned waltz. The anticipation generated by the decor was exploded by vocal sameness and oppressive approach.

And then I attended the Ivy Players of Springfield College's production of Shaw's satirical spoof of hero-worship and war, "Arms and the Man."

The theatre, translated from a central corridor in walnut-paneled Carlisle Hall, is obviously makeshift. Four circular pillars define the arena acting area, lit arbitrarily from spots hung functionally, if not shielded artistically by any decorative covering.

The furniture revealed for the first scene in Raina's bed chamber was adequate but hodge-podge. I wondered if the lack in design in the presentation would affect Mr. Shaw's notable scribblings.

As the play began and progressed, it became more evident that this was a "low budget" production: Costumes were "concocted." Uniforms gold-braided from evening dress,